Chapter Three- Hanging Tough

Hanging Tough

Ottis' funeral was truly beautiful. Hershel has always had a way with words. Ever since he began his recovery from alcoholism, he found comfort in God. I didn't share his faith, but I could appreciate the symbolism of it all. Patricia was a believer, as was Ottis, and I could tell she was touched by Hershel's sermon. Her grief was still fresh and even though she demanded to hear from Shane, needing to know that her late husband's death had meaning, I hoped she would begin to take the first steps to healing.

As Shane spoke about Ottis' bravery, I would barely keep a scowl off my lips. I didn't believe him, didn't trust him, but without proof of any sort, what good would my accusation do? It would only bring Patricia more pain and confusion, and I've already delivered her enough of that for the rest of her life. I choked down a scoff as Shane's display became more dramatic than I had anticipated he was capable of. I couldn't, wouldn't, let his irrational actions bring harm on my family, not again.

As my eyes rolled away from Shane's sickening display, I found Daryl in the crowd. He was already looking at me, and he had noticed my agitation. I cleared my throat softly and brought Willa into my arms. She was barely hanging on, after losing her own husband and battling with pregnancy hormones, she was a wreck. Ottis had always been so good to us, he had always been so good to everyone.

Willa sniffled and pulled Addy into us and the three of us stood next to Maggie and Beth, watching Patricia fall to her knees at the resting place we had made for Ottis. Hershel rested his hands on her shoulders, tears swimming in his eyes. I had to turn my head away from witnessing their pain. Truly, I wanted nothing more than to strap on a pair of running shoes and clear my head as I put a few miles between me and the situation. I had never really dealt with my parents' death, so running from emotional trauma was my go to. I could feel my anxiety start to rear its ugly head as my chest began to get tight and my breathing ragged.

Not a moment too soon, Hershel finished his speech, and when Rick's group began to walk away to give the family some privacy, I took a step backwards to catch my breath.

"Aunt Lottie," Addy said quietly as she stood next to me.

I knelt down so that I was eye level with my niece. "What is it?"

"Do we have to stay here?"

I looked at Willa and the others and then back at Addy. She had just lost her father- this funeral had to be borderline detrimental to her mental stability. "Of course not. Let's go check on the horses."

She nodded, her face suddenly looking less pale. I intertwined her fingers with mine and we made the short walk to the field where the horses were kept.

Daryl and Sophia's mother, Carol, were within ear shot, and I could hear Daryl telling her to not lose hope, that they were going to find Sophia. He seemed so sure of it, as if he didn't need anyone else to believe it.

Carol nodded, wiping the tears from her face as she thanked him.

I felt out of place eavesdropping, so I focused my attention on where it should have been- on Addy. "You know," I said as I watched as she stood on the fence, leaning over it slightly. "Your mom told me what you did for Carl."

She shrugged, not expecting to have this conversation centered around her.

"That was very brave of you, Ads." I paused. "You saved his life."

She looked at me and shook her head. "I just gave him some of my blood. Mr. Rick couldn't do it again."

"Well without it, he wouldn't be here right now." I paused. "So if you ever feel that maybe you aren't helping us or feel that others are doing more than you, remember that. Remember that you're capable of saving lives."

She looked down, her eyes bouncing back and forth from one rock to tie her. She looked back at me and nodded. "Good." She took a long pause. "I don't want to be worthless."

Worthless. That word hit me hard and knocked out my breath, like a punch to the stomach. I pulled her into me and knelt down so that I was on my knees with her wrapped in my arms. "You could never be worthless." I pulled back to look at her. "I'm serious, Addaline." I could tell she suddenly felt unsure of herself for saying that, so I smiled and tickled her knees. "You're the bees' knees."

She laughed and bent over, grabbing my hands. "What does that even mean?" She giggled.

"It means," Carol said as she and Daryl approached us, "that you're something wonderful."

I nodded at Addy as I stood up with a smile on my face, but Addy's smile blew mine out of the water. "I bet Sophia is the bees' knees too."

I looked cautiously at Carol, who smiled gently at Addy. "If we find her, I think you too will get along really well."

Daryl didn't miss a beat, and responded quickly to Carol. "When we find her." I don't know how he had so much hope or faith or whatever it was, but it was a breath of fresh air compared to what we were all feeling.

"I'll help," Addy volunteered. "I'll come with you," she said to Daryl.

Daryl looked at me to handle the eager child. "Actually," I said. "I think you need to help your mom today. She's looking extra tired." I paused.

"But don't tell her I said that. She is growing a human being."

"I thought so," Carol said. "I thought it would be rude to ask. How far along is she?"

"Twenty-six weeks," Addy answered as I stood there trying to count in my head. I nodded when I came to the same conclusion. Addy found the conversation about her mother slightly boring and looked out at the horses. "There's something caught on her neck," she said as she pointed to Maggie's horse.

I looked over, seeing a piece of shrubbery hung around the horse's mane. I stepped on the bottom of the fence and leaned forward, calling the horse over. She obediently trotted to us and I helped Addy to reach her so that she could pull the greenery off the horse. With my arms extended and chest leaning forward, I could feel the breeze pick up and blow my shirt up, exposing my lower back.

"Got it!" Addy exclaimed as she pulled the shrubbery off and started petting the horse.

I heard Carol gasp, causing me to slam my eyes shut and grimace at the sound. Once I let out a deep breath, I turned to look over my shoulder and could see that both Carol, with her hands over her mouth, and Daryl, with his eyes averting from my lower back to the ground almost instantly, had one hundred percent noticed the scars I doted on the left side of my lower back. The three, deep, 10 mm circular scars that littered a small area of my back were very obviously from cigarette burns. The distinctive pattern was very much recognizable as such.

I planted my feet firmly on the ground, helping Addy do the same. She hadn't noticed the interaction, too busy focusing on the large animal in front of her. My eyes jumped from Daryl, who was avoiding eye contact, to Carol, who looked incredibly apologetic. "We better get back," I said to no one in particular.

"Charlie, I-," Carol started.

I held my hand up, letting her know that whatever she was going to say wasn't necessary. "See you guys later." I forced a smile and made sure Addy was by my side as we walked back to the house.

I twisted my hands together, my nerves making my chest right. This was my fault, or should I say it was the early 2000s me fault. I found a box of my old clothes, and I thought I could sport these ultra low jeans with the same ease I did when I was sixteen. Ultra low waisted jeans should have burned when people started coming back to life to eat their friends and family.

"What do you think mom needs help with?" Addy asked.

Her question snapped me out of my self loathing fest and I shrugged. "Better ask her." When we got to the front porch, I patted Addy on the back when she was with Hershel and Beth before disappearing inside the house.

I could hear Willa in the bedroom the three of us shared as I walked down the hall. Upon entering the quaint room, I saw that she was closing a dresser drawer. "Thanks for getting Addy some air out there."

I closed the door behind me. "You don't ever have to thank me for that," I said as I fumbled through my portion of the closet trying to find a more suitable pair of jeans. With a pair of black denim in my hands, I turned to face Willa. "How are you?"

She sat on the bottom bunk and let out a deep sigh. "I'm good."

I pursed my lips together and joined her on the bed. "Can't say I believe you."

She looked at the clean laundry in her hands and played with a loose threw coming off of one of her shirts. "This is just… a lot."

I nodded. Talk about an understatement. I could barely keep track of the days at this point. "It'll get easier." I wasn't sure that was the case, but it felt like it was something that Willa needed to hear.

"Will it?"

I shrugged. "Or we'll get used to it. So in a way, yeah?"

She patted my knee closest to her and nodded. "I'm thankful we have you- Addy and I."

"Hey, I'm the one who'd be lost without the two of you."

She smiled, knowing that was absolutely true. "What do you have going on today?"

"Big plans," I said. "Going to hit up a yoga class, check the sale at Barney's, maybe meet some girlfriends for happy hour," I grinned.

She elbowed me in the ribs and got to her feet. "I could go for a happy hour right now," she said as she rubbed her belly. "You know if I wasn't a whale and this wasn't the end of the world."

"You're not a whale," I said. "An adolescent elephant at best."

She shot me a look and rolled her eyes as she continued to put up laundry. "Just be careful out there, will you?"

I had replaced my ho jeans for a much steadier pair of Levi's by now as I was looking for a belt. "I will. I'm just going to help with the search party for Sophia." I turned to face Willa. "This is not my god complex coming into play."

She put her hands up in defense. "Honestly, I'm too tired to argue about that. I was up most of the night with Patricia. She is finally getting some sleep now." She paused. "You should talk to her."

Threading a leather belt through my jeans, I bit my lower lip. "I don't think she wants to hear from me."

"You'd be surprised. She loves you, Lottie. You know how people are when they grieve, and even I'm not exempt from being slightly irrational

whilst grieving." And that last bit was Willa's apology. I knew she had felt badly for acting the way she did, because she, of all these people, knew me the best.

I tightened the belt and nodded at her. "I know," I said softly as I leaned forward to squeeze her hand. "Well have fun knitting blankets." I winked at her.

She scoffed. "Yeah, well I'm going to leave holes all in yours."

When I made it back to the yard, Maggie and Hershel were showing Daryl, Rick, Shane, and Andrea a map of the immediate area. I walked towards them, but lingered a few feet away. I knew the area well enough that I didn't need to see the map to know. Daryl glanced up at me, but quickly averted his eyes back to the map.

I sighed softly, trying not to let my pride get the best of me. Those scars were in the past- way in the past. I've grown and become an entirely new person since I endured that abuse. It still doesn't change how people feel about you when they see scars like that. It wasn't their fault that their opinion of you changed, it was just something that was.

Maggie walked past me, squeezing my shoulder, and found Glenn while Rick and Hershel took a walk towards the west part of the farm.

"We'll get camp going," Shane said to Andrea. "Start with getting water from the well." He looked at me. "You here to look for Sophia?"

I nodded. "Thought I could offer some insight on where she would be."

Shane nodded towards Daryl. "Go with him then."

Excuse you, Officer Dildo, I didn't need direction.

"Nah, work better on my own."

I adjusted the bow that was strapped to my back and shrugged, though I felt slightly offended.

"Good god, man, she knows the land," Shane countered.

"Don't worry about it," I said quickly. "There's a house about three miles East. I was going to check that out. Daryl, feel free to join or to look elsewhere," I said as diplomatically as I could. I nodded at Andrea and didn't wait for Daryl to give me an answer before I started in that direction. I could feel my cheeks flush; had Daryl hurt my feelings? Seemed slightly elementary that I would feel rejected just because he wanted to look for the lost girl alone. That was why we were out here, after all. No, my feelings weren't hurt because of him preferring to search for Sophia alone. I was putting myself back into my childhood trauma, reliving the times where my fellow classmates had seen and gawked at my scars, where they had made me feel less than for being a survivor of abuse.

"Wait up," Daryl's voice called from behind, pulling me out of my thoughts.

I slowed down and watched as he took three long strides to catch up to me. "Was there confusion when I said I was going East?"

He looked in front of us and bit his thumbnail. "Didn't mean nothin' by it." His tone was scruffier than usual, almost he was agitated, but attempting not to be.

I shrugged. "I get it, historically speaking, I haven't been a team player either." Now wasn't the time to regress after years of therapy. I could do that later, curled up in a blanket and stuff my mouth full with what could be the last Reese cup I'd ever eat.

He grunted something inaudible, but from his lax body language, I was under the impression he agreed with me. The trees shielded us from the sun directly, and when a breeze picked up, the walk could be labeled as nice, except for the fact that we were scouting the area for a little girl that was probably dead. I hadn't dare said it to Daryl or to anyone else. It wouldn't do anyone any good, and it was possible that Sophia was alive.

I glanced at Daryl, who was carefully studying the landscape. From what I understood, he was a master hunter and tracker, so from the look of it, I'd say that he was tracking clues that I hadn't been conditioned to see.

"Anything?" I asked.

He grunted another time and pointed to a couple of twigs. "Could be somethin'."

I squinted to see three small sticks that had been broken. "Not an animal?"

He shook his head. "Nah." He didn't elaborate as to why it couldn't possibly be an animal and I didn't ask for further explanation.

I nodded north. "That house isn't far. Maybe she's there?"

Another growl came from his lips as he stood straight. He looked over the general area where he had spotted the broken sticks and then continued east. I stayed closed, but far enough away that I wouldn't impact his tracking. It was mesmerizing to watch, how he paid attention to the smallest detail, inspecting the ground, the brush, the trees and the patterns of their missing bark. I kept quiet, scanning the woods for the girl while Daryl looked for clues that could lead us to her.

Minutes later, we came across the old, two story house. The Whitmans owned the property years ago, but they both died a year or so before the world went to shit. I couldn't help but to be slightly jealous of them. They had lived their lives to the ripe old age of 75, give or take, dying from untreated diabetes and dying from congestive heart failure; talk about southern deaths. Despite their own pain from their diseases, they didn't endure this, whatever this was. Watching the ones you loved getting torn to pieces? Seeing them come back and having to kill them all over again? Struggling to find food and shelter? In the midst of exploring extreme self pity, Daryl caught my attention. His face looked calm as he held his crossbow up, using its sights. He wasn't frowning or pouting, he was doing what he could, and I could almost guarantee that he wasn't harboring a mental pity fest.

"I'll go in first," I said softly as I took a long stride in front of him, stepping onto the front porch of the house.

He took hold of my wrist and shook his head. "Don't know what's in there."

I raised my eyebrows "And you do?" I countered

"Damn, woman, just wait here, will ya?" It wasn't a question, but an order.

I crossed my arms and nodded for him to open the front door. I wasn't one who took orders, but I couldn't deny that I was out of my element here. One part of learning was knowing when you were over your head, and I recognized that this was one of those times.

Daryl glanced at me before pushing the door open and entering the home. I peaked in after him to see him turn the corner into the living room. I kept my mouth shut as I fought the urge to yell after him to see if he saw anything.

My attention was brought back to the yard as I heard a scream coming from the south, towards the farm. I took a step off the porch and focused on where the cry had come from. I saw blonde hair covering a little girl's face as she ran towards the house, three walkers hot on her trial. I recognized the red jacket before I could make out the girl's face. It was Addy. My stomach bottomed out as, for a split second, as I watched the scene in front of me.

"Daryl!" I yelled as I took off towards my niece. I pulled my bow off my back and strung an arrow, having to come to a stop to shoot. The first walker hit the ground. My fingers fumbled for another arrow, which I realized I wouldn't be able to sting with shaking heads. My stomach filled with dread as I picked up my pace, my feet hitting the ground hard. I could hear the undead's growls and chomping at air, sending shivers down my spine. I unsheathed my knife as I screamed Addy's name. She looked at me in utter terror, tears streaming down her face as she ran as fast as her feet could carry her. She was shaking her head and small, terrified sounds escaped her lips.

"Addy!" I screamed again as a walker reached out to her. Before he could grab onto my niece, the walker hit the ground, a bolt to his head. I didn't turn back to look at Daryl, but thanked him endlessly in my mind. Finally, I was within distance to pull Addy into my arms, and I did. Without missing a beat, I stabbed the final walker through the eye socket. I pushed his body against a tree before turning to face Addy, my entire attention on her.

Her eyes were still wide, tears coming down her dirty face, leaving clean streaks over her cheeks. Her clothes were as dirty as her face. "Lottie!" She screamed and pointed behind me.

I didn't have time to grab the knife that was still in the last walker's face so I turned my back to the fourth walker that had appeared from behind the tree and covered Addy's body with mine. I knew that with my entire body still shaking, I couldn't fight it off but I could keep her safe. I closed my eyes and waited for the feeling of his teeth tearing through me to happen. The sound of a bolt gliding through the air and hitting its target filled my ears, and I realized that I was no longer in danger of being a snack. I looked up to see Daryl running towards us, his crossbow in his hands.

I nodded him a thanks and knelt down in front of Addy. "Are you hurt? Are you bit?" I grabbed her face in between my hands when she didn't answer. Her mouth opened, but no words came out. She was in shock. I knew that look well. "Addy!" I yelled.

She finally shook her head, but that didn't keep me from inspecting her, checking every inch of exposed skin with shaky hands. I almost lost her, she was almost ripped apart right in front of me. My heart was nearly beating out of my chest as I thought of losing her.

"She's good," Daryl said softly as he put his free hand on my shoulder.

I looked from him to back at Addy. I was scaring her. I let out a shaky breath and pushed myself to my feet. "What are you doing out here? Where is Willa? Is everyone okay at the farm?"

She nodded and pulled out a plastic bag holding two big cookies. "I forgot to give this to you," she said, finding her voice. I could tell she was already starting to come out of her shock. This kid amazed me, especially since I was still reeling on the inside from the experience. She handed the bag to Daryl. "For you and for Sophia for when you find her. In case you're hungry."

Daryl took the bag from my niece, slowly. He was waiting for me to speak, to tell her that even though the gesture was nice, she shouldn't have come. That she could have died-that she was almost killed. "Thank ya."

"Ads," I said looking at her. "You can't leave the farm. Ever. Not without someone with you." I paused. "You're a smart kid, you know why, right?"

She looked at the four dead walkers and then back at me. She nodded. "I thought I could catch up, but I got turned around." Her eyes started to fill with tears once again, and I pulled her into me. "I heard you were going to Mr. Whitman's house and I thought I remembered the way," she cried, burying her face into my shirt.

"It's okay," I said softly, rubbing her back. "You're not hurt. We got you." With my arms wrapped protectively around her, I looked at Daryl. "I need to get her back to the farm."

His facial expression was much softer than I realized he was capable of. How concerned he looked, not just for Addy, but also for me nearly took my breath away. "I'll go with y'all."

"No," I said softly with a weak smile "There's still plenty of daylight. You should stay and look for Sophia." I paused. "I can send someone else to help you when we get back."

"It ain't me I'm worried 'bout bein' out here alone," he said as he looked around, searching for more walkers. I could tell he didn't like the idea of Addy and I making the three mile hike back to the farm, but he knew I was right.

I put my palm on his forearm, to get him to look at me. "We'll be fine, won't we, Ads?"

Addy finally pulled away from me with a nod. "We're hanging tough," she smiled as she wiped her tears away.

I smiled down at her, nodding. "Hanging tough," I repeated. My eyes traveled back to Daryl, who was rubbing the stumble across the jawline as he watched Addy and I. He didn't seem nervous, but he wasn't as comfortable as he was earlier when he was tracking Sophia.

"A'right," he mumbled. "Be safe, will ya, Cherry?"

"You too, tiger." I looked away from Daryl to interlace my fingers with Addy's and started to walk back towards the farm. We didn't get three feet away before Daryl called my name.

I turned to face him to see that he was cleaning my knife off with a bandana that he kept in his back pocket. "Ya ain't makin' me feel better 'bout lettin' the two of ya go off without me," he said as he handed me the knife, handle end first.

I cleared my throat and shot him an apologetic look. "I have a back up," I promised.

He grunted and turned to walk back towards the house, his head shaking.

"Why do you call him tiger?" Addy asked after we were no longer in earshot.

I shrugged. "He's always grunting and growling. Seems fitting to me."

She giggled lightly and nodded. "He does."

I let out a breath. "You know your mom is going to kill us."

She swallowed hard and squished her facial features together with a furrow. "I know."

"You're going to be so grounded," I almost taunted, not wanting the entire hike back to be filled with dread.

"So are you." She wasn't wrong about that.

I leaned my head back and sighed. The remainder of the thirty minute walk, Addy and I spent in near silence. I was focusing on our surroundings to make sure nothing snuck up on us. Addy spent the majority of the walk biting her nails, a nervous habit of hers, undoubtedly thinking about the trouble she's going to be in as well as the danger she had just been in.

The moment the farm was in view, I saw Beth walking along the perimeter Rick had set up. "Addy!" She yelled upon seeing us.

"Go on," I said to her.

Addy looked skeptical about running the rest of the way, but when Willa appeared in view and Addy saw how distraught she was, Addy took off towards her mother.

"Oh my god!" I heard Willa shout as she ran towards Addy, meeting her in the middle of the yard. She dropped to her knees and pulled Addy into her arms. "Where did you go? Why did you leave?" She cried as she held onto her.

Tears formed in my eyes as I saw their reunion. I had to take a deep breath to keep myself together. While Addy and I were joking about the trouble we'd be in, Willa was living her nightmare. When I approached the mother-daughter duo, Lori and Patricia had made their way to them as well.

"Where did you find her?" Willa asked me.

I knelt down beside Willa. "She found us. Daryl and I were about three miles away, at the Whitmans' old place."

"What was she doing there?" She pulled Addy arms length away from her. "What were you doing there?"

Addy's lips trembled as tears rolled down her cheeks. "I forgot to give Daryl cookies for him and Sophia."

At this point, Carol and Hershel had joined the group. Carol put her hands over her mouth and shook her head.

"I didn't want her to be hungry," Addy told Carol.

Lori pulled Carol into her arms to let the woman cry into her shoulder.

"What were you thinking?" Willa asked, getting to her feet. "You… it's… I can't lose you, Addaline."

Addy brought down into a sob and clung to her mother. "I'm sorry, momma," she cried.

Willa held her and as tears streamed down her own face, she looked at me. "Lottie…"

"I know," I said softly.

"Come inside," Patricia said. "I'll make you some tea."

Willa nodded and took Addy's hand. "You coming?" She asked me.

"I'll be right behind you." I watched as Patricia led my sister and niece into the house, my nerves finally calming down as I took several deep breaths. Those events with Addy could have ended differently, much differently. I looked at Carol, and I couldn't imagine what she was going through as she wept softly into Lori's shoulder.

I made eye contact with Lori as I stepped closer. "Daryl is going to find her, Carol," I said. "He's determined."

Carol pulled away from Lori as she looked at me. "Don't," she sniffled. "Just don't."

Lori looked at me apologetically, but turned on her heels after Carol as the weeping woman made a beeline to the RV.

"This has been enough excitement for today," Hershel said to Beth.

I nodded in agreement. "Where is everyone else?"

"Looking for Addy and Sophia," Beth answered.

"You look exhausted, dear," Hershel said. "Why don't you join them in the house?"

I couldn't argue with him there. When I made it to the kitchen, Patricia had already made me a cup of tea. I looked around the room, and Patricia informed me that Willa and Addy went to our room to let Addy lie down.

"We were so worried," Patricia said as I sat at the kitchen table.

"I had no idea she was following us," I said.

Patricia joined me and sipped her own cup of tea. "We know, dear."

The tension between us was still very real, but I didn't have the energy to hash it out with her, but I had to offer her an apology. We sat in silence for nearly half an hour, sipping tea, before I managed to speak. She needed to know how badly I felt about Ottis's death and how I couldn't have let it affect me before going into Carl's surgery. I knew she wouldn't understand that last part, but it was the truth. My apology came out in more of a ramble than anything coherent, but I could tell that it touched Patricia.

"I know, sweetie," she said softly. "I miss him. There's this huge hole that he left in my heart."

I nodded. I knew the feeling. "He was a real hero," I said softly.

She smiled weakly at me. "He was, wasn't he?"

"Addy?" Maggie's voice yelled as she walked into the house.

I put my tea down and met Maggie in the foyer. "She's laying down," I said.

Maggie had her hand over her chest. "Thank god. I didn't know she was missing. Dad just told me."

I nodded. "She's fine, just spending some time with Willa." I looked Maggie over, something was different, and it wasn't just that her shirt was inside out. "Where were you?"

"On a run, getting some things."

"With who?"

She shrugged. "Glenn."

I pulled her into the sitting room. "You had sex with him."

"What?" She said, acting offended. "No!" She paused. "How did you know?"

I smirked, shaking my head. I did not see this coming. It wasn't that Glenn wasn't cute, I just didn't think Maggie had the balls to court someone, because she was definitely the one who did the coming on to. I didn't know much at all about Glenn, but something told me that he wasn't the type of guy to assume he was going to get laid on a run to town. "Your shirt, Mags," I laughed.

"Oh my god," she said as she looked down.

"You slut," I teased.

"It was a one time thing," she said.

"Uh-huh," I replied. With everything going on, I was actually proud of Maggie. She was still letting herself live, even if it was just a "one time thing" with Glenn. Something told me that that wasn't going to be the case though. "So how was it?" I asked, not able to help myself.

She smiled and shrugged. "It wasn't bad."

"Wasn't bad?" I laughed.

"Shut up!"

"What are you two going on about?" Hershel asked as he walked through the foyer.

"Nothing," we both replied in unison. I looked at Maggie through the corner of my eye and noticed she was doing the same to me. I held in a laugh as Hershel sighed and shook his head before excusing himself to the kitchen.

She elbowed me in the side when Hershel wasn't in view. "You can't say anything."

"Scouts honor," I promised as I started to walk upstairs.

"You were never a girl scout!" She called after me.

I looked at her over my shoulder and smiled.

"Charlie!" She yelled.

"What's all that about?" Willa asked as she closed the door to our bedroom behind her.

"You know, Maggie has a flair for the dramatics."

"Since when?"

I shrugged. "How's she?" I asked as I nodded my head toward the bedroom, changing the subject from Maggie to Addy.

Willa crossed her arms and leaned against the hallway wall that was covered with picture frames of our family. "Sleeping." She sighed and I could feel her desperation. "I don't know how I should handle this." She paused. "What do you think?"

I couldn't begin to know what I would do in this situation. I couldn't imagine having a child during this. I watched as Willa rubbed her pregnant belly and finally shrugged. "I honestly don't know."

"Danny would know," she said softly. "He always knew how to handle these types of situations."

"I mean, I don't know about that. This is kind of unprecedented."

She laughed softly. "It is, isn't?

I laughed lightly with her, the small act lifting our spirits. "Just take it easy."

"On her?"

I titled my head to the side. "On you."

"Charlie!" Maggie yelled up the stairs.

"Maggie, I swear," I started as I walked towards the staircase. I wasn't going to say anything about Glenn, at least until I needed a huge favor from her.

"We need you and Willa now," she said, her voice stern and eyes big.

I looked at Willa before taking two steps at a time down the steps. I followed Maggie outside of the house, my body becoming tense with every passing second. Upon my feet hitting the ground, I scanned the yard and saw Daryl carrying a girl in his arms. It had to be Sophia. I turned to Willa. "Set up an IV and cold compresses."

She nodded, rushing back inside.

I rushed to meet Daryl in the middle of the yard, where Hershel and Beth had gathered. "Has she been conscious?" I asked Daryl once he was within earshot.

"Yeah, at first."

"Okay, good," I said, making mental notes of her extremely chapped lips, burns that had turned to whelps, new sunburns over said whelps, her swollen and red face, and a raised rash that covered her arms and legs. "Bring her inside," I looked around. "Where's Carol?"

"She, Lori, and Shane went to the highway to see if Sophia made it back there," Beth said.

I turned to Glenn. "You and Maggie need to go get Carol." He nodded and turned to Maggie while I gently pressed the back of my hand against Sophia's forehead. She was clammy, but her breath was steady enough that it didn't cause too much alarm.

I looked at Hershel and as I walked next to Daryl, who was still carrying the unconscious child, I knew he was thinking the same thing; Sophia was suffering from severe dehydration, sun poisoning, and possibly a heat stroke.

"Did she say anything when you found her?" I asked Daryl as we made our way inside. "This way," I said as I led him to Hershel's office. With Carl still in the spare bedroom, I didn't want to chance something going wrong and him witnessing it. Willa was already thinking the same thing and she had a cot set up, waiting for us.

"Nah," Daryl said. "She had her eyes opened, but didn't say nothin'." He placed her on the cot and took a step back.

"Did you notice any vomit around her?" I asked as I felt her pulse; it was rapid, but weak.

He shook his head. "Is she goin' to be a'right?"

Willa inserted the IV of fluids into Sophia's arm as I stepped out into the hall where Hershel was. "Do you have an aloe plant?"

Patricia was already on her way with one in her hands. "Sun poisoning?"

I nodded and took the plant from her. I walked back into the room and handed the plant to Willa. "Looks like a heat stroke," I said as I watched her body begin to shake.

Willa sliced a leaf open and handed it to me. "How long was she out there for?"

"Four days," Daryl answered.

Willa shook her head, her hands shaking. "Four days," she whispered.

I looked at her. "I got this. You can-"

"No, I'm okay."

Together, Willa and I covered Sophia's skin with aloe, followed by several linen towels that had been soaked in cool water. Hershel brought in a small heater and a fan. "Evaporation cooling technique," I said. "Smart." I looked at Daryl. "Tell Patricia we need a spray bottle or something." He was out of the room before I finished my sentence.

"Charlie!" Willa said as Sophia's body began to twitch. "On her side."

We both turned her to her right side and made sure her airway was clear and IV intact. Her body jerked, followed by a more intense convulsion.

"Sophia!" Carl yelled as he held onto the wall in the hallway.

My head turned to face Beth and she moved to Carl quickly. "Carl, come here," Beth said as she took his hands into hers and led him away.

Daryl returned with the spray bottle and his eyes widened at the state of Sophia. "What's goin' on?"

I took the bottle from him and handed it to Hershel. "She's seizing," I said returning to her side, waiting for the convulsions to cease.

"Can you think of anything out of the ordinary?" Hershel asked Daryl. "When you found her?"

He shook his head, biting his thumb nail. "Didn't know I was lookin' for anythin' but her," he admitted.

I turned to face him at the sound of his pained words. He was blaming himself for not only not finding her soon, but also not taking notes about when he did find her. "She's lucky you found her when you did," I said.

His eyes narrowed. "Don't look like it."

Sophia's body stopped shaking, allowing us to lay her flat on her back. Willa misted water over Sophia's skin as Hershel held the heater near her and fanned the warm air onto her body. I reached to get the thermometer from Hershel's supply bag on his desk and when I turned back, Daryl was gone. I let out a small sigh as I rolled the thermometer over Sophia's forehead. Shit. "One-oh-two," I said, shaking my head. "We need to get this temperature down."

"This will," Hershel assured.

I took a step back, looking at Sophia. It was gut wrenching to see her like this. I swallowed hard, thankful that it wasn't Addy and then feeling extremely guilty for being so thankful. I tore my eyes away from Sophia and met Willa's.

"I know, me too," she said softly.

I pulled my hair from a loose bun to a tighter one on top of my head. This was going to be a long night.